Right Response to Angry Neighbors
Nehemiah 4:1-9
February 6, 2022
In the book of Nehemiah we get a big lesson about what Jesus is like. Nehemiah
reminds us of Jesus in His ministry of restoration. Like Jesus, Nehemiah gave up
a high position in order to identify with the plight of people. Nehemiah had been
given a specific mission, he fulfilled his mission, and everything he did showed his
dependence on God in prayer. Since the last book we studied was Joshua, you need
to know that about 945 years have passed from the death of Joshua until Nehemiah
went to Jerusalem. Israel had poorly managed the blessings God gave them in the
Promised Land. After the Jews were either scattered or deported from Canaan, some
had been allowed to return under Zerubbabel and then Ezra. After a thirteen
year gap, Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls of the city. In last
week’s lesson, the people believed Nehemiah and followed his directions. They went
to work on the wall.
Important work has seldom been easy or without opposition. Sure enough, in
tonight’s Bible reading, opposition stepped up and became quite vocal. As the leader
of Jerusalem, Nehemiah has to decide how he will deal with this opposition so that its
impact will not be terminal. He could not let the enemy stop the work.
Warren Wiersbe says, “The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also love our
enemies; probably because they are generally the same people.” As our text begins,
Nehemiah is having some trouble with his new neighbors. Sanballat and Tobiah are
not happy to hear the news that the Jews were rebuilding the wall. Both of these men
are believed to have been territorial governors in the surrounding areas under the
authority of the king of Persia. Nehemiah was now the territorial governor of the
small district of Judah. His opposing forces were also descendants of the people Israel
had run out of the Promised Land over 900 years earlier. They had no love for the
Jews and certainly didn’t want to see them rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. They
seemed committed to doing all they could do to stop Nehemiah. They tried to
intimidate Nehemiah with false reports, deceive him with false prophets, and influence
him with the nobles of Judah. The hopelessness of Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem’s
efforts was that they were fighting against God. Opposition is evidence that God is
blessing His work. It is also an opportunity for people to grow. As long as the Jews in
Jerusalem had been satisfied with the way things were in Jerusalem, their enemies
left them alone. But when they got on board with Nehemiah’s plan to restore
Jerusalem for God’s glory, the enemies rose up.
We can learn a lot from Nehemiah’s response to the opposition. He didn’t fear them.
They didn’t worry him, and he didn’t waste his time seeking revenge. Nehemiah took
the matter to the Lord and left it with Him.
That is a good pattern for us to follow when we face opposition. Don’t fear.
Don’t worry. Don’t waste time trying to settle the score. Take your enemies
to the Lord and leave them there.
These enemies of Nehemiah remind us of so many in the world today.
1 ¶ Sanballat was very angry when he learned that we were rebuilding the
wall. He flew into a rage and mocked the Jews,
2 saying in front of his friends and the Samarian army officers, “What does
this bunch of poor, feeble Jews think they’re doing? Do they think they can
build the wall in a single day by just offering a few sacrifices? Do they
actually think they can make something of stones from a rubbish heap — and
charred ones at that?”
3 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was standing beside him, remarked, “That
stone wall would collapse if even a fox walked along the top of it!”
4 Then I prayed, “Hear us, our God, for we are being mocked. May their
scoffing fall back on their own heads, and may they themselves become
captives in a foreign land!
5 Do not ignore their guilt. Do not blot out their sins, for they have provoked
you to anger here in front of the builders.”
6 At last the wall was completed to half its height around the entire city, for
the people had worked with enthusiasm.
7 ¶ But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs, Ammonites, and
Ashdodites heard that the work was going ahead and that the gaps in the
wall of Jerusalem were being repaired, they were furious.
8 They all made plans to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw us into
confusion.
9 But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect
ourselves.
- Why did Sanballat become angry with the Jews? How did Sanballat treat the Jews?
What do you think he meant by calling the Jews feeble? (4:1-2) 1 ¶ Sanballat was
very angry when he learned that we were rebuilding the wall. He flew into a
rage and mocked the Jews,
2 saying in front of his friends and the Samarian army officers, “What does
this bunch of poor, feeble Jews think they’re doing? Do they think they can
build the wall in a single day by just offering a few sacrifices? Do they
actually think they can make something of stones from a rubbish heap — and
charred ones at that?”
Sanballat did not want to see the Jews rebuild the walls and gates of Jerusalem.
Sanballat was not happy to hear the news that the Jews were rebuilding the wall. He
mocked the people. He criticized their work. Sanballat began his attack by asking a
series of rhetorical questions designed to influence the crowd of onlookers.
Notice these questions.
“What does this bunch of poor, feeble Jews think they’re doing?
Do they think they can build the wall in a single day by just offering a few
sacrifices?
Do they actually think they can make something of stones from a rubbish
heap — and charred ones at that?”
Sanballot may have even been right in thinking these Jews were weak, but he needed
to know what Paul would later write in 1 Cor. 1:27 But God has chosen the
foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the
weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28
and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has
chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,
29 that no flesh should glory in His presence.
Can’t you just imagine that Nehemiah would have liked to have said to Sanballat,
“Look, it is not our strength or our weakness that ought to concern you. It is
our Source of strength that you had better be concerned with.” Sanballat
mockingly asked if they will get the job done. He doesn’t think they can do it.
- What do you think the purpose was of these questions asked by Sanballat?
Sanballot’s questions were intended to cause the workers to doubt the
feasibility of rebuilding the walls. God’s work is seldom driven by the results
of a feasibility study. We have Sanballots today telling churches that they can’t do
what God has called them to do. They say things like, “That won’t work in this area of
the country.” “That is not practical.” “That’s been tried before and it didn’t work then
and it won’t work now.” “That person won’t listen to the gospel.” - How does Tobiah add his opinion to the conversation? What impact was this “piling
on” intended to have? (4:3)
3 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was standing beside him, remarked, “That
stone wall would collapse if even a fox walked along the top of it!”
What he was saying was that the quality of their work was very low and even if they build the wall it
wouldn’t last. The workers were mostly unskilled at the job they were doing. To
make matters worse, they were having to dig their building materials out of a pile
of garbage. This is a reminder that opposition to the Lord’s work is alive and well.
In fact, it is all around us. We can’t count on the society to encourage us in our walk
with the Lord. We can’t look to the government to encourage the spread of
Christianity. We can only look to the Lord. - How did Nehemiah respond to the taunts of his enemies? (4:4-5)
4 Then I prayed, “Hear us, our God, for we are being mocked. May their
scoffing fall back on their own heads, and may they themselves become
captives in a foreign land!
5 Do not ignore their guilt. Do not blot out their sins, for they have provoked
you to anger here in front of the builders.”
Nehemiah’s reaction to the opposition was predictable – he prayed! We get
the idea that no matter what happened, the first thing Nehemiah would do was pray.
When you walk with the Lord, you can count on God to fight for you.
Nehemiah doesn’t pray for vengeance, he prays for God’s will to be done.
Because of the time he had spent in prayer, and because of his own submissive
attitude toward the Lord, Nehemiah knew he was doing God’s will.
He had asked God to guide and provide. He obeyed God, and God blessed the work.
- According to Nehemiah, why were the Jews so successful in their work? (4:6)
6 At last the wall was completed to half its height around the entire city, for
the people had worked with enthusiasm.
Nehemiah didn’t have to deal with Sanballat, he had to deal God. He depended on
God to deal with Sanballat. The blessings of God were evident. Success was right
there in front of their eyes. The wall was half of its original height already. Much
work had been completed because the people had worked with enthusiasm. - What did Israel’s enemies do when they heard of Israel’s success in rebuilding
Jerusalem’s walls? (4:7-8)
7 ¶ But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs, Ammonites, and
Ashdodites heard that the work was going ahead and that the gaps in the
wall of Jerusalem were being repaired, they were furious.
8 They all made plans to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw us into
confusion.
We can expect our enemies to plot against us. Sanballat and his friends had
already tried to stop the work on the walls by using psychological warfare against the
Jews. It didn’t work. The workers were unified, and they were excited about what
they were doing. The hand of God was on His people, and good things were
happening in Jerusalem. Sanballat’s first plan failed because the people had a
mind to work. Now the enemies of the Lord’s work met together and made a plan
to attack Jerusalem. - How did Nehemiah and the Jews respond to the evil plotting of their enemies? (4:9)
9 But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect
ourselves.
They prayed, and they took action. They guarded the city 24/7.
They understood the importance of being vigilant. The danger was real, and they
needed to be watching carefully for the actions of their enemies. - How does God want us to deal with discouragement? How dangerous is
discouragement?
Discouragement is a common malady among man. We all face it, and the more time
we spend in discouragement, the more it will cost us. It can zap our energy, drain
our strength, blind our vision for the future, and eat up our time. It can be highly
contagious. It can spread quickly and weaken the faith of multitudes.
In our efforts to find comfort in our discouragement, we often turn to sinful indulgence
and others sins of unbelief. The Lord does not want us to be discouraged. John
14:1 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.
The indication seems to be that discouragement is the opposite of trusting God.
Jon Bloom identified the opposite of discouragement as “faith-fueled courage.”
John 16:33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here
on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I
have overcome the world.”